Ochocinco on coach Lewis: 'Maybe he doesn't like me for real'

Chad Ochocinco's rollicking offseason continued Thursday when the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver roared around the track at Atlanta Motor Speedway with NASCAR driver Jeff Burton.

"I asked him to let loose," Ochocinco said. "Please don't waste my time. Step on the gas."

Ochocinco has been a busy man in Atlanta. In addition to crossing high-speed racing off his bucket list, he's continuing his offseason workouts and shooting a cameo in the latest "American Pie" sequel. Somewhere in between, he called in to an Atlanta radio station, sharing his thoughts on a number of issues, including his strained relationship with Marvin Lewis.

The Bengals' coach has been critical of his receiver in comments dating to last season. Ochocinco didn't hold back when asked where his relationship with his coach stands.

"I don't know. Hopefully Marvin is doing this maybe to help me out," Ochocinco told WQXI-AM. "Maybe he's trying to cause some friction between himself and me. Maybe he doesn't like me for real. He doesn't like me, well, I don't like him either.

"Maybe he's trying to do this to show (Bengals owner) Mike Brown, 'I don't think I can coincide with Chad,' but damn it, I can't coincide with him either, and if he really feels that way, when I see him, I'm going to whoop his (butt)."

Ochocinco has played his entire 10-season career with the Bengals, but it's believed he could be released or asked to take a pay cut when the NFL lockout is lifted. He didn't sound like a player itching to return to his familiar stomping grounds.

"It doesn't matter where I'm at," Ochocinco said. "People can say what they want. Wherever I am, I'm going to make it happen. And they always say the grass ain't greener on the other side, but my damn grass been brown for a long time."

Another longtime Bengal whose career with the team is in doubt is Carson Palmer. The quarterback has said he'll retire if he's not traded by the team, because he's fed up with the culture of losing that has enveloped the franchise.

Ochocinco doesn't believe Palmer is bluffing.

"He's not playing. When somebody goes out of character like that, especially a white guy with red hair that grows a random beard," Ochocinco said. "When he says he's going to do something, he's going to do it. He's not playing."

Ochocinco also has worked out with two of football's most controversial players this offseason, former New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress and former Ohio State quarterback Terrell Pryor. Ochocinco raved about Pryor -- who left Ohio State in April amid scandal surrounding improper benefits -- praising his timing and arm strength.

Ochocinco also was complimentary of Burress, who recently was released from a 22-month prison stay on gun charges.

"Plax looks like he's ready to play. ... He hasn't missed a beat," Ochocinco said. "We trained all last week together (and) he looks really good ... a lot bigger, too."

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Ochocinco, a six-time Pro Bowl pick, took the ride with Burton about six weeks after visiting the Professional Bull Riders circuit near Atlanta to ride a 1,500-pound bull for 1.5 seconds. He also has tried out for Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer and said he next plans to wrestle an alligator.

"You can't scare him," Burton said. "The man has ridden a bull. He runs routes across the middle of the field. He wants to wrestle an alligator. How do you scare an athlete like that?"

Ochocinco ended his day at the speedway with a new level of respect for NASCAR drivers.

"How the hell they are able to do that with 30 other drivers on the track is beyond me," he said, adding that NASCAR "really is a sport and it does take skill."

Asked in an ESPN interview if he worried about losing a limb battling alligators, Ochocinco said he already had a backup plan in mind.

"If I lose an arm wrestling alligators, I can just be the Bengals' kicker," said Ochocinco, who kicked an extra point in a 2009 preseason game.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Bucs coach Morris waves off differences with Bengals' Lewis

If there was bad blood between Bengals coach Marvin Lewis and Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris last season, the men appear to have left it on the field.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Saturday that Lewis was angry with Tampa Bay for signing rookie wideout Dezmon Briscoe to its practice squad last September, after the Bengals released the 2010 sixth-round pick in hopes he would wind up on their practice squad.

But Briscoe chose the Bucs over the Bengals because Tampa Bay offered him the rookie minimum of about $325,000, favorable to the roughly $100,000 practice squad contract the Bengals planned to field.

Hearing that Lewis was upset, Morris told reporters at the time that Lewis would be wise to focus on his own team's affairs, fueling speculation that the two were on shaky turf leading up to Week 5's Bucs-Bengals game, which Tampa Bay won 24-21. 

Morris appeared at the Marvin Lewis Golf Classic last week and rejected the notion of problems between the two.

Chad Ochocinco recently has attempted a lot of jobs. None of them peformed particularly well. NFL.com's Adam Rank rates the Bengals receiver's performances. More...

"That's business, this is about the community and the bigger picture," Morris said. "It's not about whether you have a disagreement on the field or whether I like him on game day.

"I wanted to come in for Marvin and be supportive of him because he's always been supportive of me."

Morris spoke of his respect for Lewis: "When you talk about guys that paved the way not only for coaches but young African-American coaches, he's been a consummate leader.

"To be here as long as he's been here and be a leader in the league as far as rules committee, that's one of those guys that you want to follow after and do the right things. If you keep following that path you have a chance."

The 6-foot-2, 207-pound Briscoe ended up playing in Tampa Bay's final two games, catching six passes for 93 yards and a touchdown.

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University of Pittsburgh interested in Bengals coach Lewis

Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is on the short list of candidates to take over the University of Pittsburgh's football program, a league source said Sunday.

Lewis was emotional following Sunday's 13-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis might not be back next season, although the University of Pittsburgh job could be an option. (Gail Burton/Associated Press)

"I can't answer where things are for me," Lewis said after the game. Responding to questions about his future with the team, Lewis said, "Officially, today I'm unemployed," ending with a laugh.

The Bengals' Twitter page followed Lewis' remarks with a post that read: "We need to talk and i need to sleep on it."

Lewis' contract with the Bengals expires after this season and might not be renewed. Cincinnati managed just four wins through 16 weeks and earlier this season tied a franchise record with 10 consecutive losses.

In eight seasons under Lewis the Bengals recorded a 60-67-1 record, posted just two winning seasons and lost in both of their playoff appearances.

Pittsburgh's vacancy appeared when the school fired head coach Mike Haywood on Saturday, saying he couldn't continue in the job he held for just 2½ weeks because of his arrest on a domestic-violence charge.

Haywood was released Saturday from St. Joseph County Jail in Indiana on $1,000 cash bond, said an officer at the jail who declined to give her name, after the charge was upgraded from a misdemeanor to felony domestic battery in the presence of a minor.

Within hours of Haywood's afternoon release, Pittsburgh put out a statement from Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg, saying the coach had been dismissed, "effective immediately," and the school was reopening its search.

Haywood was arrested about 3 p.m. Friday after a custody issue developed with a woman with whom the coach has a child, police said. The unidentified woman told police that Haywood grabbed her by the arm and neck and pushed her as she tried to leave the home that the coach owns in South Bend, Ind., where he once was a Notre Dame assistant.

Assistant St. Joseph County Police Chief Bill Redman said the woman had marks on her neck, arms and back.

Haywood's hiring by athletic director Steve Pederson was greeted unenthusiastically by fans, boosters, alumni and students who questioned why a school with annual Top 25 aspirations hired him away from mid-major Miami of Ohio. Dave Wannstedt, forced to resign last month following a disappointing 7-5 season, coached the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins before his 2004 hiring at Pittsburgh.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Deadline looms for safety-needy teams to claim Lewis

Safety Michael Lewis, who was released by the San Francisco 49ers on Monday after asking to be let go following his demotion from the starting lineup, remains on waivers until late Tuesday afternoon.

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It isn't known if any claims have been put in, but several teams are in need of safety help after a rash of injuries last weekend.

If claimed, a team would have to pick up the remainder of Lewis's $1.7 million contract.

Lewis, who started San Francisco's first three games, left the team Friday after rookie Taylor Mays was promoted into the starting lineup at Lewis' expense.

Lewis, 30, has started all 50 games in which he has appeared with the 49ers. He took a pay cut to remain with San Francisco for a fourth season. He played his first five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Niners grant veteran safety Lewis his release

The San Francisco 49ers have parted with Michael Lewis, two days after the veteran safety reportedly requested his release.

Lewis did not travel with the team to Atlanta this weekend, having left the team Friday for what coach Mike Singletary deemed personal reasons.

The team announced Lewis' release Monday in a press release.

"I want to thank Michael for his hard work and leadership as a 49er," Singletary said. "We wish him and his family all the best."

Lewis and the 49ers' divorce began when the safety lost trust in the 49ers organization, according to a report Saturday in The Sacramento Bee. That mistrust may stem from an NFL Network report last Wednesday that Lewis and veteran LB Takeo Spikes were on the verge of being benched. Singletary denied the report, saying there would be no lineup changes vs. the Falcons, and stayed true to his word, starting Spikes.

Rookie S Taylor Mays started in place of Lewis and made his presence felt. He recovered a blocked Falcons punt in the end zone in the first quarter for a touchdown.

Lewis, 30, has started all 50 games in which he has appeared with the 49ers. He took a pay cut to remain with San Francisco for a fourth season. He played his first five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.

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